DUI Trial: Things to Consider

Orange County DUI lawyers

If you were arrested by the   California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, or by a local police agency for DUI or DUI drugs, then you and your Orange County DUI Lawyer may end up taking the case to trial. Typically the DA will file two counts of DUI against a person where alcohol is involved: California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) makes it a crime to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or any combination of them, if the drugs and/or alcohol impaired you to such a degree that you could no longer have the ability to drive with the caution and care of a sober person. Having objective symptoms of use of a drug or alcohol is not enough to convict you of DUI. For example, a driver who has used methamphetamine may, during the DUI investigation and field sobriety tests, display classic signs of methamphetamine use such as dilated pupils, facial twitching, stuttering and profuse sweating. But that is NOT enough to convict someone of DUI. In order to get a DUI conviction the DA must prove that your ability to drive was impaired.

If the district attorney does not present sufficient evidence of impairment of driving ability, your DUI Lawyer in Orange County should make a motion after the DA’s case to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence. These motions are typically denied by trial judges in the Orange County courts but they can present grounds for a successful appeal. If the judge does deny the motion, your DUI case will continue and it will be time for your criminal defense lawyers in Orange County to present any witnesses or evidence in your case. A defendant does not have to present any case but must be given the opportunity to do so. Sometimes, a defendant doesn’t put on any case. Rather, your DUI Attorney will argue to the jury that the district attorney did not meet their burden of proof—proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every element of the offense.

California Vehicle Code Section 23152(b) simply makes it a crime to drive with a blood-alcohol of 0.08% or greater. The DA doesn’t need to show any impairment at all in order to convict you of this offense. The DA need not show that you failed any field sobriety tests or that you drove poorly. Just having a 0.08% or higher is a crime. In order to defend this charge your DUI Lawyer may argue a rising defense, an error in the breath test or blood test, or that there was insufficient evidence that you were actually driving.

So the charges of 23152(a) and 23152(b) are completely different. Where alcohol is involved, the prosecutor usually charges both. Where the case is a refusal or where only drugs are involved, or a combination of drugs and some alcohol (below a 0.08%), the district attorney will usually only charge 23152(a).

If you have been arrested for   DUI with injury , felony DUI, or DUI with priors, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential consultation. You can speak to an experienced DUI Attorney in Orange County about your options. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com. We have offices locations at: 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92627 and at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.

DUI Attorneys in Orange County